A/57/173 criminal proceedings (principle 1). Similarly, the United Nations Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment provide for the right of all detained persons to have access to a lawyer during pre-trial detention and investigation. 23. The Special Rapporteur would also like to recall the following recommendation made by his predecessor: “Where allegations of torture or other forms of ill-treatment are raised by a defendant during trial, the burden of proof should shift to the prosecution to probe beyond reasonable doubt that the confession was not obtained by unlawful means, including torture and similar ill-treatment”. 24 24. With respect to the specific situation often referred to as the “ticking bomb” scenario, i.e., a situation which would allow torturing somebody deemed to have crucial information on a bomb said to explode shortly and which could potentially kill innocent civilians, the Special Rapporteur would like to call to mind that there must be no derogation to the prohibition of torture under international law. He would like in particular to draw attention to the concluding observations of the Committee against Torture upon its recent consideration of the periodic report of Israel under the Convention against Torture, in which the Committee stated that it was fully aware of the difficult situation of unrest faced by Israel, particularly in the occupied territories, and understood its security concerns. While recognizing the right of Israel to protect its citizens from violence, the Committee stated that no exceptional circumstances may be invoked as justification of torture. 25 E. Immunity from prosecution of law enforcement officials 25. According to other information that the Special Rapporteur has received, under some anti-terrorist legislation, security and other forces would be immune from sanctions even when the safeguards outlined above are not complied with. Thus, it is reported that laws provide for immunity from prosecution for any authority on whom powers have been conferred under the concerned anti-terrorist laws, for anything which is done in good faith. It is feared that such provisions may effectively constitute an offer of impunity to law enforcement agents who use torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment during interrogations. The term “good faith”, for example, is in this context extremely wide-ranging and subjective. It could even be claimed that torture of an arrested person suspected of terrorist activities is an act done in good faith, for example, for the purpose of the fight against terrorism. 26. The Special Rapporteur reminds States parties of their obligations under the Convention against Torture to ensure that “all acts of torture are offences under [their] criminal law” (article 4); that “its competent authorities proceed to a prompt and impartial investigation, wherever there is reasonable ground to believe that an act of torture has been committed in any territory under [their] jurisdiction” (article 12); and that “any individual who alleges he has been subjected to torture in any territory under [their] jurisdiction has the right to complain to, and to have his case promptly and impartially examined by, its competent authorities” (article 13). In that respect, the following recommendations made by his predecessor are pertinent: when a detainee or relative or lawyer lodges a torture complaint, an inquiry should always take place and, unless the allegation is manifestly illfounded, public officials involved should be suspended from their duties pending the outcome of the investigation and any subsequent legal or disciplinary proceedings; a person in respect of whom there is credible evidence of responsibility for torture or severe maltreatment should be tried and, if found guilty, punished; and legal provisions granting exemptions from criminal responsibility for torturers, such as amnesties or indemnity laws should be abrogated.26 F. The right to seek asylum, the principle of non-refoulement and extradition 27. The Special Rapporteur has received information according to which the right to seek asylum, which is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 14), has been unduly restricted by what are meant to be anti-terrorist measures. Particular groups of migrants are said to have been discriminated against and fears have been expressed that, in the name of the fight against terrorism, asylum has been given a very restrictive interpretation. 28. In this regard, reference is made to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which provides exclusion clauses from the status of refugee. The Convention shall not apply to any person with respect to whom there are serious reasons for 9